Creativity

  • Creativity, Investing, Leadership, Learning

    Episode #66 – Decoding Greatness with Ron Friedman

    My guest today is Ron Friedman, author of Decoding Greatness: How the Best in the World Reverse Engineer Success. In this episode Ron applies the principles of reverse engineering to creative fields like writing and investing. We talk about how to study people who are the best in the world at what they do by breaking down what it is they’re doing that is contributing to their success, and then then working backward to figure out how they did it

  • Creativity, Happiness, Time Management

    Episode #65 – The Former President of Fidelity on Remote Work

    Today's guest is Bob Pozen, the former president of Fidelity Investments. He teaches a course at MIT Sloan called "Maximizing your own Productivity" and he recently authored a book with Alexendra Samuel titled, Remote, Inc.: How to Thrive at Work...Wherever You Are.

  • Creativity, Happiness, Learning

    Episode #63 – Designing Your Life with Bill Burnett (replay)

    Today’s guest is a former designer from Apple who is now the Executive Director of the Stanford Design Program, and he teaches a hugely popular course at Stanford called Designing Your Life. His name is Bill Burnett and he’s the co-author of the book,Designing Your Life, How to Build a Well-Lived Joyful Life. Bill has taken the principles of design that he learned at Apple and he helps people apply them to design their life.

  • Creativity, Happiness, Investing

    Episode #61 – Jeff Bezos’ Letter to Amazon Shareholders 2020

    In today’s episode we explore Jeff Bezos' latest letter to Amazon Shareholders, and pull out lessons we can learn to help us succeed in business and in life. In the letter, Bezos looks at how Amazon delivers value to customers, employees, partners and shareholders and he explains how this value is an excellent measure of innovation.

  • Creativity, Learning, Literature, Uncategorized

    Episode #56 – How to Think Like Shakespeare with Scott Newstok

    My guest this week is Scott Newstok, professor at Rhodes College and author of How to Think like Shakespeare: Lessons from a Renaissance Education. Scott’s book is ultimately about the craft of thinking and how to improve it. 

    In our conversation we address a very interesting question. How is it that Shakespeare, and his renaissance contemporaries were able to produce such incredible works? What was their education like and what can we learn from studying it? We also discuss what we've lost in education today and how we might begin to recover it.

  • Creativity, Happiness, Learning, Time Management

    Episode 53 – In Praise of Walking with Shane O’Mara

    The topic of this week’s episode is walking, and my guest is Shane O’Mara, author of In Praise of Walking: A New Scientific Exploration. Shane is a professor of Experimental Brain Research at Trinity College Dublin and he’s an expert on the physical, psychological and social benefits of walking. We talk about why walking is the trait that makes us “uniquely human” and what that means for us personally. And given that walking is the fundamental way we experience the world, Shane guides us on how to get more walking in our day and more benefit from each walk.

  • Biography, Creativity

    Episode 50 – The Incredible Mind of Claude Shannon with Jimmy Soni & Mark Levinson

    Our topic this week is Claude Shannon, a mathematician and engineer known as the Father of Information theory for his landmark paper "A Mathematical Theory of Communication", which he published in 1948. Shannon's seminal work and discoveries ushered in the digital age, and for that alone, his life is worthy of study, but Shannon also had this other remarkable quality to his life – a very playful and creative mind. Shannon was always curious, and he devoted his considerable intellect to a diverse range of activities and interests, that included juggling, unicycles, artificial intelligence, chess playing machines, wearable computers – he even built a chairlift on his property. He was both a mathematical and creative genius.

  • Creativity, Decision Making, Investing

    Episode 49 – The Hot Hand with Ben Cohen

    Our topic this week is the mystery and science behind streaks. Ben Cohen covers the NBA for the Wall Street Journal and is the author of “The Hot Hand.” We discuss the phenomena of the “hot hand” in basketball and a famous paper from the 1980s that claims the hot hand doesn’t exist. We also explore how the hot hand relates to Shakespeare’s plays, Rob Reiner’s movies, picking stocks, betting at the roulette table and even farming.

  • Creativity

    Episode 46 – Entrepreneurship, Music & Writing with Nabil Ayers

    In today’s episode at the Good Life, Sean Murray talks with Nabil Ayers, a professional musician, successful entrepreneur, and U.S. head of the independent music label, 4AD. Nabil is also […]

  • Creativity, Time Management

    Episode 40 – Unplugging One Day per Week with Tiffany Shlain

    On today’s show, Sean’s guest is a filmmaker and writer, Tiffany Shlain. Tiffany is the author of the book “24/6: The Power of Unplugging One Day a Week.” In our conversation, […]